The Florida Trail Guide

A hiker’s guide to the Florida National Scenic Trail
and connected side trails

Our second edition of the The Florida Trail Guide is a major upgrade to our award-winning first edition, with 36% more information. It provides detailed logistics for hiking and backpacking the Florida Trail, whether you’re planning a weekend trip with friends, an outing with a Scout troop, a week in the woods, section hikes of significant length, or a full thru-hike of 1,100 miles across the state of Florida. 348 pages, $18.95.

What’s new?

More than 140 miles of relocations updated.

Hundreds of additional trail landmarks described.

Alternate routes provided for flooding and closures.

Southbounder alerts throughout the book.

Many more About the Trail details.

All roadwalks are called out in the text.

More maps, and better matching of maps to data in data spreads

All mileages recalculated and adjusted based on updated GPS tracks.

Full Eastern Continental Trail details for Key West to Big Cypress.

Full Florida Keys Overseas Heritage Trail details, good for hikers and cyclists.

Lists of maildrops, outfitters, and places to buy fuel.

Originally inspired by The AT Guide, this 348 page guidebook covers the full length of the Florida National Scenic Trail as well as major side trails that connect to it: Blackwater, Ocean-to-Lake, and the Eastern Continental Trail between Key West and Big Cypress Preserve. Data spreads and service spreads are provide in an easy-to-read format (please see samples). Mileages, and the overall flow of the book, are based on a typical thru-hiker route from Big Cypress to Fort Pickens, with alternate routes fully detailed in the back of the book.

Trail segments found in this book (click to enlarge map)

What’s inside?

Logistics for nearly 1,500 miles of trail.

43 regional overview maps.

63 town maps annotated with updated service details.

18 sections, including connector trails.

GPS coordinates for trailheads.

At-a-glance services icons.

Section and thru-trail mileage for each chapter.

Mileage details based on trail landmarks.

Mileages between designated campsites.

Post office hours and locations.

Lodgings and campgrounds near the trail.

Outfitters and shuttle providers along the trail.

Contact information for thousands of services.

How to get to and from the termini.

Permit requirements and precautions.

Basics for hiking in Florida.

A list of camping and backpacking outfitters in Florida.

A list of where to buy stove fuel along the trail.

A full list of where to send maildrops.

Links to more details online.

Will there be an ebook version?

Right now, we have a map-based app available thanks to the well-respected trail guide team of Guthook Hikes and High Sierra Attitude. Check out the app features. Much better than an ebook could ever be!

However, we understand that some people prefer a book format over a map-based format. We’ve looked into ebook production and found it unlikely to accomplish due to our use of tables and special icons in the text. We did break out one section of the book and expand on it greatly as an ebook: Florida Keys Overseas Heritage Trail.